Can



H. SE'BELL 2,106,330

Jan. 25, 1938.

CAN

Filed March 23, 1937 \nvenTor. Hurry SebeH bym ATT S.

Patented Jan. 25, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAN Application March23, 1937, Serial No. 132.555

2 Claims.

This invention relates to cans and particularly to cans having aclosure-receiving opening in one end which is adapted to be closed by aclosure of the friction plug type, and one object of the invention is toprovide a novel construction wherein the friction plug closure has a tabextending from the periphery thereof and permanently secured to the can,which tab functions as a hinge for the closure when the can is opened.

In order to give an understanding of the in vention I have illustratedin the drawing some selected embodiments thereof which will now bedescribed after which the novel features will be pointed out in theappended claims.

1 In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view through a can embodying my invention taken onthe line I|, Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the can;

Fig. 3 is a view of the blank from which the closure is made;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view-showing the closure plug removedfrom the closure-receiving opening;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a difierent embodiment ofthe invention;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the closure plug before it is attachedto the can end.

The invention can be embodied in any can having a body portion and anend portion provided with a closure-receiving opening, and in Figs. 1, 2and 3 I have illustrated the invention as it might be embodied in a canhaving an oval cross-sectional shape and provided with an ovalshapedclosure-receiving opening. In the drawing l indicates the body portionof the can which has secured to one end thereof the closure-receivingend portion 2 which is formed with the opening 3 through which the canmay be filled or through which the contents of the can may be removed ordischarged.

The ring portion or closure-receiving end portion 2 may be secured tothe can body in any of the ways now commonly employed for this purpose.As shown in the drawing this ring portion or closure-receiving endportion 2 is secured to the top edge of the body portion l by adouble-lock seam 4. The ring or end portion 5 2 is formed with adepending skirt 5 which surrounds the opening 9 and provides a frictionseating wall for the closure, which is indicated at 6. This closure 9 isof the friction plug type, it having the upstanding peripheral wall Iwhich fits tightly within the depending skirt 5 thereby to make a tightjoint, and if desired the upper edge 8 of the plug may be shaped topresent a. bead as usual in closures of the friction plug type.

According to my present invention this closure 6 has a tab or extension9 extending outwardly from the periphery thereof, which tab or extensionis permanently secured to the can in some suitable way. The purpose ofthis tab or extension 9 is to provide a hinge connection between theplug and the can so that when the can is opened by prying the plugclosure out of the opening 3 the tabor hinge portion 9 will flex thuspermitting the closure to be swung backwardly into open position asshown in Fig. 4. r

One way of permanently attaching the extension or tab 9 to the can bodyis to roll the end portion of said tab into the double-lock seam 4 asshown in Fig. 1. Where this construction is used the tab 9 ispermanently connected to the can by the operation of forming thedouble-lock seam 4. It will be understood, of course, that when the canbody and the can end are assembled for the seaming operation, the canend 2 will have the closure plug fitted within its opening 3 and withthe tab 9 extending outwardly from the periphery of the closure and intoposition to be acted on by the seaming rolls as the seam 4 is formed.

Instead of connecting the closure to the can by rolling the tab into theseam as above described, the permanent attachment between the tab andthe can can be secured by spot-welding the tab to the ring 2. Thisconstruction is shown in Fig. 5 in which the can body is indicated at H,and said can body has the ring or 35 closure-receiving end portion l2secured thereto and provided with the closure-receiving opening l3. Inthis embodiment the opening I3 is situated near one side of the can andthe friction plug I4 by which the opening is closed has a 0 tab orextension [9 integral therewith and extending outwardly from theperiphery thereof, said tab or extension overlying the ring orclosurereceiving end portion l2 and being spot-welded thereto orotherwise secured thereto as shown at 29.

I prefer to make the tab portion 9 or I9 of sufiicient length so thatwhen the can is opened the flexure of the tab will be distributed over aconsiderable length thereof and the tab will not be subjected to anysharp bends.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the tab 9 is madeintegral with theclosure 6, said closure and tab being formed from asheet metal blank, such as shown in Fig. 3 which has the body portion land the tab extending from the periphery thereof. This body portion l issubjected to the action of forming dies by which it is pressed into itsfinal shape.

While the invention can be embodied in cans of various shapes, yet ithas special advantages when embodied in a can having an oval orelongated closure-receiving opening and closure therefor. Various kindsof food products are frequently packaged and sold to the consumer incans having the oval-shaped opening. In the manipulation of a can havingan oval-shaped closure which is not attached to the can for the purposeof opening the can, spooning out some of the contents thereof andclosing the can again, it frequently happens that the closure will dropinto the can especially when the can is nearly empty, and when thishappens it is. very difficult to remove the closure from the can. Thiscannot happen, however, in a can embodying my invention. because thehinge portion 9 retains the closure on the outside of the can andprevents the closure from assuming a position in which an end thereofcan enter the opening.

While one convenient way of making the closure is to form it with thetab integral therewith, yet the invention would not be departed from ifthe tab were permanently secured to the closure member in some other waythan by having it integral therewith. The important feature ineludesproviding a closure for the closure-receiving opening of the can, whichclosure has a tab extending therefrom that is permanently secured to thecan and constitutes a hinge member for hingedly connecting the closureto the can.

I claim:

1. A can having a body portion, a closurereceiving portion secured tothe body portion at one end thereof by a double-lock seam, said closurereoeiving portion having a closure-receiving opening and a closure ofthe friction plug type fitting said opening, said closure havingintegral therewith a tab projecting from the periphery thereof, the endof which tabis rolled into the double-lock seam whereby said tabfunctions as a hinge for the closure when it is removed from theopening.

2. A can having a body portion and a closurereceiving portion secured tothe body portion at one end thereof by a double-lock seam and providedwith an opening, and a closure for closing said opening with a tightfit, said closure having integral therewith a flexible tab which extendsfrom the periphery thereof and which overlies said closure-receivingportion, the end of said tab being rolled into the double-lock seamwhereby when the closure is removed from the opening the tab flexes andconstitutes a flexing hinge member for the closure.

HARRY SEBELL.

